You Can't Be Too Careful [Star Trek/Leonard "Bones" McCoy Love Story]

[22.] The Flash of a Single Lifetime

[22] The Flash of a Single Lifetime

 “Ketherine? Ketherine, can zyou hear me?”

I pulled out my communicator and flipped it open.

“Right here, Mr. Chekov. What can I do for you?” I replied, tucking the tablet under my arm.

“I need zyou to report to ze Keptin about ze radiation lewels. I cannot leawve ze Warp Core right now.”

“Of course, Chekov. I just finished my rounds. I’ll head up there now.”

“Thank zyou, Ketherine! Wery much!”

I chuckled. “Not a problem. Be back soon.”

I flipped my communicator shut and slipped it back into my pocket. As much as I didn’t want to face Kirk at the moment, I knew that I had a job to do, whether I wanted to or not. I located an elevator that went to the Bridge and stepped inside. The white doors slid shut, and soon, I was moving upward. The whirring of the gears buzzed around the compartment, and white lights periodically flashed into the small chamber as I passed each level. Finally, I arrived at the Bridge.

“Permission to come on the Bridge, Captain?” I asked.

Kirk turned around and gave me a confused look. He was silent for a few moments.

“Permission granted, but, what are you doing here, lieutenant?” he asked.

“Mr. Chekov sent me to give you a report,” I answered, stepping inside.

He nodded. “Would you do me a favor and wait a moment? There’s…sort of something going on right now.”

I held the tablet in front of my and gave a curt nod. “Of course, Captain.”

“Thanks,” he said absentmindedly, turning back to whatever he was doing. I cringed a little. It was no wonder Astrid was so angry with him. He wasn’t being the lighthearted man that I knew he was. The entire ordeal had made him rougher around the edges.

“Shuttle is standing by, Captain,” a man off to the side declared.

Kirk pressed a button on his armrest and began speaking:

“Bones! Thanks for helping out. Dr. Marcus asked for the steadiest hands on the ship.”

“You know, when I dreamt about being stuck on a deserted planet with a gorgeous woman, there was no torpedo,” he answered.

I suppressed a giggle. Typical Bones.

“Dr. McCoy, may I remind you: you are not there to flirt.”

“So, how can these legendary hands help you, Dr. Marcus?”

“Bones…” Kirk sighed. I lifted a hand to my mouth to conceal my smile.

“To understand how powerful these weapons are, we need to open the warhead,” a woman, who I assumed was Dr. Marcus, replied. “To do that, we need to access the fuel compartment. Unfortunately for us, the warheads on these weapons are live.”

“Sweetheart, I once performed an emergency C-section on a pregnant Gorn. Octuplets. And let me tell you, those little bastards bite. I think I can work some magic on your missiles,” Bones told her haughtily.

I stopped smiling. I wanted to keep smiling, because his attempts at flirting with this woman were absolutely ridiculous, but for whatever reason, my grin simply disappeared. I felt my heart twitch in my chest and a strange, unpleasant feeling come over me. My fists clenched and my stomach flip-flopped. I frowned, unsure of why I was reacting like this to his silly comments. And then, it hit me: